V-Guard, the Rs 370-crore stabiliser manufacturer, is foraying into the rural BPO space in

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a bid to diversify its portfolio. Already into water theme parks and clothing business, the company is using the societal touch to avoid labour issues in Kerala.

It operates its water-theme parks under the Veegaland brand in Kochi and as Wonderla in Bangalore. It also has a clothing line called V-Star in south India. Arun Chittilappily, MD of Wonderla Holidays, said the new move to get into BPO business was in line with its strategy to come up with business plans having a societal touch. Vintes Solutions, the new BPO outfit, has opened its office in Kochi and has employed 40 people from neighbouring villages.

The group’s stabiliser business is also run in a similar fashion with the help of 75 small-scale units across the south, primarily in Kerala. Its earlier attempt to produce stabilisers in three large factories had met with failure, as labour union issues forced it to shut them down. So V-Guard in a smart move, adopted the small-scale industry route, outsourcing work to a larger section of society (mostly women) to help it escape the tag of a large manufacturer — a term detested by militant trade unions. This time too, the company is following a similar route, in its BPO business.

“There is less risk in this model. The BPO will start off with basic work like data entry operations for large corporations. We are even recruiting people who have passed SSLC or PUC,” Chittilapilly said. In a parallel move, the group is also merging its two water theme park entities — Veega Holidays & Parks and Wonderla Holidays — into one. There are also discussions on entering north Indian market.

“We are looking to set up two stabiliser manufacturing units in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand in another 18 months,” he said. The company had raised over Rs 70 crore through an IPO in February this year, to fund its expansion plans.